We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rebecca Snow. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rebecca below.

Rebecca, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I am an herbalist. Herbalists generally struggle to make a living. A lot of folks that go to school to learn herbalism make it a hobby instead of a job. You might wonder why that is the case? The global herbal medicine market was over 200 billion in 2023. Most of this market is in direct to consumer sales. The field of herbalism is not a licensed field so many practitioners use herbs in their practice – doctors, nurse practitioners, acupuncturists, nutriitonists, chiropractors, naturopaths and more.

I graduated from Maryland University of Integrative Health (formerly called Tai Sophia Institute) in 2004 with a Master of Science program in Herbal Medicine. It was the first master’s degree of it’s kind in the US. I was the first graduate of the first cohort. A lot of firsts. Career options were unknown for us, we were taking a risk. A typical master’s degree is 30-60 credits, our program was 80+ credits. It incorporated nutrition, materia medica, pathophysiology, botany, phytopharmacy and more.

When I graduated, I took two big risks…
#1 I reached out to doctor’s offices to work in their office as a contractor. I had never heard of an herbalist working in doctor’s office. It was not a common scenario. I sent letters. I called around. I set up interviews. And I landed my first gig that lasted 5 years and established my name in the Baltimore-Washington area as a clinician.

#2 I applied to a national credentialing body, the Board for Certified Nutrition Specialists, to pitch my qualifications to sit for their board exam in nutrition. They reviewed my transcript and education and accepted my application. I passed the exam and became the first CNS with my background and degree. Fast forward 20 years later and I have been asked to sit on the board of this organization.

Rebecca, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I went to undergrad to be a teacher. In my first year doing a traveling teaching job for Readak, I worked through the Artist’s Way, a wonderful book that gets you in touch with your passions and creative pursuits. I became interested in herbs, aromatherapy and medicine making. I started dabbling, concocting, reading and learning. I decided to leave my job as a teacher and take administrative and sales jobs with integrative health practices and herb shops to be near my passion while I continued to learn and grow.

Fast forward, I have now been in the field as a full-time working professional for 20 years. I am a nutritionist, herbalist and clinician. I see clients with chronic health complaints and I help them navigate diet and lifestyle changes to help them heal. I run lab testing, I custom formulate herbs, make food and supplement recommendations, I do meal planning, medicinal food recommendations and lifestyle recommendations too.

I now have two businesses. I have a clinical practice with 2 other clinicians who work with me in my business, Rebecca Snow Nutrition & Herbs.

My 2nd business is the Nutrition & Herbal Collective. We mentor and supervise emerging nutritionists who are getting board certified in nutrition. We help them launch their business, flex their clinical practice muscles, find their niche and build community and confidence.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The lesson I had to unlearn was… “Don’t give people too much free information.” I was so protective of my “knowledge” when I was a new practitioner and entrepreneur. I thought I had to hold onto that and protect it instead of sharing it freely. Now I know that sharing knowledge and wisdom is a way to drive a loyal customer base.

Have you ever had to pivot?

The Nutrition and Herbal Collective, my 2nd business that mentors emerging nutritionists started in 2014 as Rebecca Snow’s Mentorship Program. In 2014. I had 5 interns I would meet with in my living room. This business was steady for 5-6 years. I grew to have 20-25 interns a year that I mentored and supported. By 2020, a bunch of programs had popped up that were competition and my enrollment had dropped. I made a strategic decision to remodel this business for growth. At that time I was a single mentor of 13 interns. Now in 2024, I have 6 mentors with 60 interns.

The way I shifted my course was to expand my team (I became we), increase my social media presence (I had to get over my dislike of social), increase my SEO presence (I hired a business coach), rebrand & revamp my website and refine my message!

Contact Info:

• Website: rebeccasnow.com; nutritionherbalcollective.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nutritionherbalcollective/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIody_rCTle9TEpp60_8VoQ